Pneumatic holder for weft ends



G- C. BEATRICE ETAL PNEUMATIC HOLDER FOR WEFT ENDS Filed Jan. 25, 1951INVENTORS GABRIEL C. BEATRICE KENNETH J. HALL ATTORNEY Dec. 2, 1952Patented Dec. 2, 1952 PNEUMATIC HOLDER FOR WEFT ENDS Gabriel Beatrice,Shrewsbury; and KennethJ.

Hall; Worcester, Mass, assignors toCrompton. & Knowles Loom Wiirks,Worcester, Mass a. corporation of Massachusetts Application January 25,1951, Serial No.,207;756

This invention. relates. to. improvements in pneumatic thread holdersfor the, weft ends extending from reserve bobbins in a. weftreplenishingloom and it is the general object of'the invention to provide a threadholder so constructed as. to facilitate control of the weft ends ofbobbins addedto the magazine and also removal of a weft endcorresponding. to a. transferred bobbin.

It is customary in. weft replenishing. looms. of the bobbin. changingtype to provide some form of'thread holder for the ends of'the weftextending from the reserve bobbins stored in a magazine. Those forms ofthread holders which operatepneumatically serve not only to. tension theweft. ends but. are intended also to. remove the weft. end of. a freshlytransferred bobbin as soon as. thethread of. this bobbin is cutattheselvage. Where a number of. threads enter. the. thread holder,however, the thread of a. transferred bobbin may beheld by neighboringthreads and. be prevented from being removed promptly.

Itis an important object of thepresent invention to-providea thread.collector having primary and secondary threadv intake mouths the firstof which may lead to a thread. collector and. the other of. which isformed by angularly disposed members. so relatedthat the. air movinginto it willtend to dislodge the thread of atransferred bobbin from theother. Wei-tends so that itcan be drawn into theprimarymouth and thencepass into a thread collector.

When fresh bobbins are being added tothe magazine of a weft replenishingloom it is necessary that their weftends. be placediunder control of thethread holder. It isa further object of the presentinvention to provideone of the aforesaid members with a mounting which will permit it tomove. from normally closed to an open position whereby the fresh weftends can extend across. the primary mouth and be drawn into the thread.collector. This member is thenreturned to its normal position. to assistin forming the previously mentioned secondary mouth.

It is a further object of the invention to make the movably mountedmember in the form of a hinged cover which can be thrown back from itsnormal position and provide this cover with means fortemporarilypositioning the fresh weft ends so that they can be acted onby the column of airmoving into the primary mouth.

It is a still further object of the invention to provide a separator todivide the weft ends into at least two groups one of which may be fineyarns and the other coarse yarns, and associate 11 Claims (01. 139.-247)this separator with a.- yield'ablelock means for the hinged membereffective t'ohold' the-latter in normal position but yieldabl'e readilyto permit the member 'tobe swung toopen position.

With these and other objects in view which will appear as thedescription proceeds, theinvention resides in thecombination'and-arrangement of parts hereinafter described andset forth.

In the accompanyingdrawings, wherein a convenient embodiment ofthe-invention is set' forth,

Fig; 1 is a side elevation ofpart of a loom'having the invention appliedthereto,

Fig; 2 is an enlarged plan view looking in the direction of arrow 2,Fig. l,

Fig. 3 is a detailed vertical section on line-33. Fig. 2,

Fig. 4 is a side elevation ljooking thedirection of arrow 4, Fig. 2;partsbeingomitted,

Fig. 5 is a vertical section on line. 5-t, Fig; 3. Fig. 6 is an enlargedverticalsection' online 5M6, Fig. 2, and- Fig. 7" is a diagrammatic viewshowing the hinged or cover member in twodifferent positions.

Referring to Fig. 1, the loom frame lsupports a reserve bobbin magazineM from which extend weft ends from reserve bobbins stored in themagazine but not shown herein, In the present instance these weft, ends.are shown as being arranged in front and back groups 2' and 3,respectively. These groups may be all of the same general type of weft,orone group can be composed of fine yarnsandtheother of coarse yarns,depending upon the character of fabric being woven.

The loom is provided with a lay 5 reciprocated backwardly and forwardlyby the top or crank shaft 6 of the loom. The. lay has a shuttle box I toreceive a shuttle S. When the. invention is applied to multicolor weftreplenishing looms the shuttle shown will be one of several shuttleswhich are in action one at a time depending upon the pattern of thefabric.

The magazine is providediwith the transferrer arm In which operates toeffect renewal or replenishment of weft in the shuttle S when the latteris depleted of weft. During this renewal thethread end corresponding tothe bobbin be ing transferred will move downwardly with the bobbin withrespect to the other threads of its group.

The loom is provided with a thread collector C having a hollow cylinderI2 the interior of-wh-ich is connected pneumatically to a hose or pipe[3 leading to an air pump l4 secured as at 15' to the loom frame andhaving a piston I6 reciprocated by a lever attached by connector Is tothe lay 5. As the latter swings back and forth the piston It will slidewithin the pump i4 and will act to create subatmospheric pressureswithin the collector C during backward movement of the lay. The pump isshown as one means for creating a partial vacuum within the cylinder 52,but the invention is not limited to use with the specific type of pumpor thread collector shown in Fig. 1.

The upper end of the thread. collector is provided with a plate 26 whichfits the top of the cylinder l2 and is provided with an opening 2| whichmay be considered as a primary intake mouth for the threads of groups 2and 3. The plate or top 20 may be secured to the collector in anyapproved manner, as by tie rods one of which is shown at 22. The tierods are connected to a bottom 23 for the cylinder l2 and an upright 24may be utilized to support the collector, as by the connectiondesignated generally at 25 and attached to the top plate 20.

The matter thus far described may be constructed and operated in knownmanner, the collector having subatmospheric pressures created therein atleast during part of the loom cycle to draw a column of air down throughthe opening or primary intake mouth 2 I.

Mounted on the top 20 is a thread guide member designated generally at30 having a horizontal base 3| and upwardly extending side wings 32 and33 located respectively at the front and back. Lying over part of thebase 31 is a deflector member 35 extending between the wings 32 and 33and held in position by screws 36 which extend downwardly through slots31 in the top 23. These screws also hold the thread guide 30 inposition.

The base 3| has an opening 40 which registers with opening 2|. The downbent end 42 of the deflector 35 preferably extends through the openings2| and 40 and is provided with a plurality of prongs 43 the purpose ofwhich is to prevent the weft threads from being drawn upwardly throughthe primary intake mouth back toward the magazine.

The base 3| has downwardly extending bearings 45 in which is rotatablymounted a rod 46 secured to a cover member 41. The rod 46 serves as apivot or hinge for the cover member 4'! located preferably below thebase 3| of the thread guide 30. The cover member 41 extends upwardly asat 50 from the rod 46 and then laterally as at between the wings 32 and33 over the deflector 35. with the top 20 limits downward motion of themember 4! toward the deflector.

The deflector 35 is provided with an upwardly directed surface 55leading to a surface 56 which curves toward the primary intake mouth asindicated for instance in Fig. 7. The upper part of the deflector 35 isprovided with a surface 57 which extends more or less in the directionof member 4! when the latter is in the position shown in full lines inFig. '7. Parts of the surfaces 56 and'51 form with the surface 58 on theunder side of the member 47 a secondary intake mouth 59 through whichthe weft threads extend from the magazine toward the primary mouth. Thesides of the secondary mouth are defined by the wings 32 and 33.

Under normal conditions the parts will be as shown in fulllines in Fig.7 with the weft ends from the magazine M entering the space below A stop52 on the rod 46 by its engagement the member 41 and above the deflectorto pass through the secondary mouth 59 and into the primary mouth 2| andthence to the interior of the thread collector cylinder l2. The lowerpart of a column of air approaching the secondary mouth will bedeflected by surface upwardly in a direction across or transverse of theweft threads for the purpose of disengaging the thread of a transferredbobbin from the other threads attached to the bobbins still in themagazine M. When this thread, shown at T in Fig. 7, is subsequently cutthe upwardly moving part of the column of air approaching the secondarymouth will lift and detach it from the remaining threads so that it canmove freely toward the primary mouth and collector.

When new bobbins are added to the magazine it will be necessary toeffect entry of their weft threads into the collector. This will be doneby swinging the pivoted member 41 from the full line to the dotted lineposition shown in Fig. 7 and then laying the fresh weft ends across thetop of the deflector 35 close to the primary mouth 2| into which theywill be drawn because of the subatmospheric pressures existing withinthe thread collector. These new threads will be guided toward theprimary mouth by the wings 32 and 33. After the new weft ends have beencorrectly placed in the primary mouth the cover member 41 will bereturned to the full line position shown in Fig. 7 and will againreestablish the secondary mouth in cooperation with the thread deflectorand the side wings 32 and 33.

If desired provision may be made for yielding locking member 41 in thefull line position shown in Fig. 7. As shown in the drawings thislocking means comprises an upright separating post secured to thedeflector member 35 preferably midway between the walls 32 and 33. Themember 41 is provided with a slot 66 in the right end of which the topof the post 65 will be located when the cover Or member 41 is initsnormal position. A leaf spring 61 is secured as at 68 to the member41 and extends along and above the slot 66 and is of such length that itwill be bent into the slot by the top of post 65 when the cover member41 is turned in a clockwise direction from its full line'position Fig.7, When the cover member is returned to its normal position the end ofthe spring 61 adjacent to the post 68 will be engaged and deflected bythe latte until the cover is in low enough position to permit the springlock 61 to assume the position shown in Figs. 3 and 7. v

The post 65 is shown herein as 'beingin position to separate the weftends of the-groups 2 and 3 so as to prevent the collection of too largea group of weft ends at any one point along the width of either thesecondary or the primary mouths. The yielding lock spring 6'! not onlyprevents accidental displacement of the cover member 41 but may alsoserve to resist upward movement of the cover member by a column of airrising alon surface 55 and directed against surface 58.

While the cover member 57 may be swung from the full line to the dottedline position, Fig. 7, by being grasped by the operator it may bedesirable to provide a simple means of opening the cover by a meremovement of the hand, in which event the rod 455 may be bent to form ahandle '16 which will be more or less upright as shown in Fig. 7 whenthe cover member 4'! is in normal position. When the operator is placingnew bobbins in the magazine and has hold of several fresh weft ends orthread'sia movement of his hand to the right'in Fig. 7 will draw thethreads away from the magazine and at the same time effect rocking-ofthe cover member to dottedline position due to engagement of his handwith the upright rod or hand1e10; Thus, by a single motion ofthehand'the cover can be opened and the new weft ends drawn down acrossthe deflector 35 between the wings 32 and 33 to a positionwhere 'theycan be drawn. pneumatically into the primary intake mouth 2|; When thenew weft ends .are drawn across. the primary mouth they may if desiredbe permitted to fall between spacing pins or guides 1i projectingupwardly from the members $1, see lines, Fig. '1.

From the foregoing it will be seen that the invention sets fortha simpleform of pneumatic thread holder having rimary and secondary threadsintake months for the weft endsextending from the reserve bobbinmagazine. The secondary mouth is formed in part by the deflector member35 and the cover member 41, and the latter is so mounted that it can beswung back to expose the primary mouth for the reception of weft ends ofbobbins freshly inserted into the magazine. The surface 55 of thedeflector directs part at least of the column of air moving in adirection from the magazine toward the secondary mouth in an upwarddirection to detach a thread corresponding to a freshly transferredbobbin from the remaining threads so that it can be drawn readilythrough the secondary and primary mouths into the thread collector. Stopmeans are provided to limit movement of the cover member 41 toward thedeflector to insure maintenance of the secondary mouth when the covermember is in its normal position. The cover 41 is associated with ahandle or the like which can be readily moved by the hand of an operatorwhen fresh threads are being placed in position to be drawn into theprimary mouth. The spacing post 65 not only holds the groups 2 and 3 ofweft ends separated from each other but is also associated with ayielding lock means which normally acts to hold the cover member 41 innormal position shown in full lines in Fig. '1.

Having thus described the invention it will be seen that changes andmodifications of the foregoing specific disclosure may be made withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the invention.

What is claimed as new is:

1. In a pneumatic thread holder for a group of threads extending from areserve bobbin magazine, means defining a primary thread intake mouthwithin which subatmospheric pressures exist and into which the threadsextend, an air deflector directing air moving from the magazine towardthe intake mouth in an upward direction across the threads, and a memberpivoted on the thread holder extending over said primary mouth and saiddeflector spaced from the latter and forming therewith a secondaryintake mouth for the threads located between the magazine and saidprimary mouth, said member being swingable away from said deflector andprimary mouth to uncover the latter for entry thereinto of threadsdeposited on the deflector and extending from bobbins in the magazine.

2. The structure set forth in claim '1 wherein a stop on said memberengages a stationary part of said thread holder to limit pivotalmovement of said member toward said deflector.

3. The structure set forth in claim 1 wherein a handle is securedtoand.extends upwardlyfrom said member and is located beyond said. sec-'ondary mouth. with reference to the magazine and afiords means by whichsaid member may be swung away from said deflector; A a o a 4. Inapneumatic thread holder for a group of threads extending from a reservebobbin magas zine, means defining a primary thread intake mouth withinwhich subatmospheric pressures exist and. into which the group ofthreads ex:- tend, a member pivoted on the thread holder normallyextending over the primary mouth, means on the holder cooperating withsaid member to define a secondary mouth located between the magazine andthe primary mouth, and an air deflector between the magazine and the;sec-- ondary mouth effective to direct a column of air moving from themagazine toward the secondary mouth in an upward direction toward saidmember and across the threads entering the secondary mouth to detach afree thread from the other threads in the secondary mouth and facilitatemovement of said free thread toward said primary mouth.

5. In a pneumatic thread holder for a group of threads extending from areserve bobbin magazine, means defining a primary thread intake mouthwithin which subatmospheric pressures exist, a member on the threadholder extending over the primary mouth and toward the magazine, meanson the holder cooperating with said member defining with the latter asecondary mouth located between that part of the member adjacent to themagazine and the primary mouth, and an air deflector between themagazine and the secondary mouth effective to direct a column of airmoving from the magazine toward the secondary mouth in an upwarddirection. toward said member and across threads extending from themagazine into said mouths to detach a free thread from the other threadsin the secondary mouth and facilitate movement of said free threadtoward said primary mouth.

6. In a pneumatic thread holder for a group of threads extending from areserve bobbin magazine, means defining one side of a thread intakemouth into which said group of threads extend and within whichsubatmospheric pressures exist, said means including a part extendingfrom said one side of said mouth toward the magazine, and a deflectordefining the opposite side of said mouth extending from the lattertoward the magazine and inclined away from said part effective to directa column of air moving from the magazine toward said mouth in adirection toward said part of said means and across said group ofthreads to detach a free thread from said group and facilitate entry ofsaid free thread into said mouth, said part of said means directing airtoward said mouth.

'1. In a pneumatic thread holder having a thread intake mouth withinwhich subatmospheric pressures exist and into which. extend threads fromthe reserve bobbins of a weft replenishing loom magazine, a thread guideintermediate said mouth and magazine formed with upright thread guidingwings at the sides of the threads, and a cover member pivoted on saidthread guide to swing about an axis transverse of the threads, saidcover member when in normal position being over said mouth and the partsof the threads adjacent to said mouth and between said wings, said coverbeing movable angularly about said axis away from said wings to aninoperative position to uncover said mouth to permit entry thereinto ofthreads leading from the magaing in a direction from the magazine towardsaid mouth and between said wings in an upward direction across saidthreads.

10. The structure set forth in claim 7 wherein spacing guides on thecover member are effective when the latter is in the inoperativeposition thereof to hold threads extending from the magazine and betweensaid wing in alignment with said mouth.

11. The structure set forth in claim 7 wherein a thread spacer islocated intermediate said wings and yielding spring lock meanscooperates with said spacer to hold said cover member in normalposition.

GABRIEL C. BEATRICE. KENNETH J. HALL.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,447,291 Turner Aug. 1'7, 19482,471,847 Turner May 31, 1949 2,476,640 Turner July 19, 1949 2,501,423Turner Mar. 21, 1950 2,505,443 Turner Apr. 25, 1950

